January 19, 2015 Funny Girl by Nick Hornby Reviewed by Annabel A new publication from Nick Hornby is always something I look forward to, be it a new volume of his…
January 15, 2015 Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss (YA) Paperback review by Annabel This debut novel was one of the big YA hits in the UK last year and is now out in…
January 8, 2015 The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick Reviewed by Annabel Marcus Sedgwick is one of my favourite authors, one of the few whose new YA and adult novels I will buy…
December 1, 2014 The Islanders by Pascal Garnier Translated by Emily Boyce Reviewed by Annabel I am a recent convert to the dark noir novels of French author Pascal Garnier. There has…
October 23, 2014 Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry Reviewed by Annabel Grayson Perry CBE RA, the Turner Prize-winning transvestite potter, is becoming a national treasure – so much so, that the BBC…
October 16, 2014 Do No Harm by Henry Marsh Review by Annabel I always find accounts of lives worked in medicine absolutely fascinating, especially those of surgeons, who live on the cutting edge…
October 15, 2014 Desperate Games by Pierre Boulle Translated by David Carter Review by Annabel Gaskell While Desperate Games is not a great work of literature, it is a book that is BIG on…
October 14, 2014 The Disappearance Boy by Neil Bartlett Reviewed by Annabel Neil Bartlett came to my attention a few years ago when I read his decidedly tense 2008 novel Skin Lane set…
October 14, 2014 Parfums by Philippe Claudel Translated by Euan Cameron Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell Those unfamiliar with Claudel may have heard of him in association with the BAFTA-winning French film I’ve…
October 9, 2014 Spotlight on Publishers: Unbound Is crowd-funding the future of publishing? Annabel talks to Unbound… Before we get into our chat fully, could you explain briefly for those readers…
October 9, 2014 The Children Act by Ian McEwan Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell Back in March, I went to hear McEwan talk at the Oxford Literary Festival. He read a couple of passages…
October 9, 2014 Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell A few years ago there was a reality show series on children’s telly in the UK called Project Parent, in…
October 8, 2014 The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli Translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn Reviewed by Annabel In my experience, there aren’t many novels for children and young adults around in…
October 3, 2014 The Confabulist by Steven Galloway Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell. Interest in the great magician and escapologist Harry Houdini seems to be undergoing a revival lately. Christopher Sandford wrote a…
September 4, 2014 Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell This book may have shocking pink endpapers, but between them is the most elegant novel of speculative fiction that I’ve…
July 31, 2014 Tigerman by Nick Harkaway Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell At the time of writing, I have the pleasure of telling you that Tigerman, with its stunning cover artwork, is the best…
July 29, 2014 The Way Inn by Will Wiles Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell “You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.” Never has a quotation been as appropriate…
July 28, 2014 Five Fascinating Facts About… Robert Aickman Winkled out by Annabel Gaskell 1. Although we’ve come to know Aickman as an author, he was a prominent conservationist. In 1946, he was…
July 23, 2014 The Strange Stories of Robert Aickman Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell 2014 marks the centenary of the birth of Robert Aickman, an author who once encountered demands that you read more…
July 22, 2014 The Accidental Universe by Alan Lightman Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell My first encounter with Alan Lightman was through his 1992 novel Einstein’s Dreams, a fictional account of the scientist during the…
July 17, 2014 Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell The Festival of Britain back in 1951 and subsequent World Expos were before my time but I am finding that…
July 17, 2014 A Bright Moon for Fools by Jasper Gibson Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell Harry Christmas strode out of Caracas airport with little more than a wallet full of stolen money and the dried-up…
July 16, 2014 Meeting the English by Kate Clanchy Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell Kate Clanchy’s first novel is a perfect summer read: it’s laugh-out-loud funny, has pathos in all the right places, a…
July 15, 2014 Gossip by Beth Gutcheon Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell When this novel was published, I couldn’t resist the allure of the cover in an oversized paperback format with French…
July 14, 2014 Beatrice and Benedick by Marina Fiorato Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell In tackling on one of Shakespeare’s most popular pairings in her latest novel, Marina Fiorato is taking a…
